Hull Seahawks expect to gain edge over NIHL National rivals by pairing Dmitri Zimozdra and Jordan McLaughlin in net

The Seahawks made a statement of intent on Tuesday night when they announced they had signed Zimozdra after the 35-year-old Russian-born goalie had made the decision to move on from second-tier rivals, Sheffield Steeldogs.

Rumours were widespread during the 2023-24 season that Zimozdra was set to join the Seahawks but a deal never materialised.

But with the Steeldogs set to undergo a summer of transition after a difficult 2023-24 campaign saw them miss out on the NIHL National play-offs for the first-ever time, Zimozdra has opted to move on.

It has brought to an end the second of two spells at the South Yorkshire club, the latter stint seeing him back-stop them to a Cup and play-off double under head coach Greg Wood in 2021-22.

McLaughlin only signed a new, two-year deal with the Seahawks earlier this year having impressed in his first full season as No 1 with them in 2024-25, helping Hull secure a fourth-place finish and finish runners-up in the NIHL National Cup.

Davies believes he now has a goalkeeping tandem that any club in NIHL National would love to have.

“If you look around the league, I think a lot of teams would happily take that tandem,” said Davies. “It’s great for both of them and hopefully makes them both more hungry to want to be in the net, to be the No 1 – that is what we want and it only makes our team better.

“Jordy understands the position of where we are as a club and what we want to do. He’s on board with that, he wants to win as much as we all do. For him, it is only going to push him on and make him better.”

Zimozdra has long been regarded as one of the best netminders around at this level, making it an obvious choice for Davies once he realised a deal was possible.

“I’ve always been a massive fan of Dima,” added Davies. “He’s someone that we have played against for a long time – first as the Pirates and then as the Seahawks and he’s been one of the best goalies in this league for a long time now.

“And I think, at this stage of his career, he wants to to go to a club and try and win something and hopefully he’s picked the right place to do that. It’s a big signing from us and only makes us a better team.”

Zimozdra said the expected changes set to take place in Sheffield this summer made it the ideal time for him to move on.

“My desire to win is very much still there,” Zimozdra told the club’s in-house ‘Behind the Curtain’ podcast.

“This is a great opportunity for me come in here and bring my experience, bring my professionalism. I know Jordan quite well and I think we’re going to work great together.

“Essentially, we can both take that next step and provide solid goaltending for the team each and every night.

“I believe this is the best place in Yorkshire to come and win trophies and I can see a team heading in the right direction.”